STAUFFER SHELLED, BUT BLACK UNFAZED

PEORIA, Ariz. 
The experts say don’t make too much of good numbers in spring training.

What about bad numbers?

Tim Stauffer, who is on schedule to be the Padres’ Opening Day starter on April 5 against the Dodgers at Petco Park, gave up five runs on 11 hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings Friday against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

And these weren’t the Angels of Albert Pujols. That more powerful half of the Angels was in Scottsdale playing the other half of a split-squad doubleheader. Stauffer was facing the likes of Jorge Cantu, Jean Segura and Alexi Amarista.

Stauffer’s second straight “off” outing raised his spring earned run average to 12.15 — the third-highest among all Padres pitchers. He has allowed nine runs on 18 hits in 6 2/3 innings with three walks and four strikeouts.

However, Padres manager Bud Black didn’t sound any alarms in his postgame assessment.

“He was up in the zone,” said Black. “He was throwing strikes. He was getting ahead in the counts. But he couldn’t finish hitters off.

“Tim works down in the zone. He needs to be down. He’d go 0-and-2 and 1-and-2 and pitch up in the zone.”

“You never want something like this to happen,” Stauffer said of Friday’s outing. “The positive is that my arm felt good (he threw 67 pitches). But I’m not where I want to be.

“For the most part, I was attacking the zone, but my ball was up.”

Stauffer said his full arm strength is not usually there until the end of spring training or the start of the season.

What next?

The latest storm clouds hanging over the launch of Fox Sports San Diego’s Padres telecasts are real clouds.

FSSD is scheduled to debut tonight by carrying the Padres-Kansas City Royals game from Peoria Stadium with Cox (channel 56 and 1056-hd) and DirecTV (channel 694) expected to carry the pregame show (6:30 p.m. with former Padre Mark Sweeney hosting) and the game (7:05 with Dick Enberg and Mark Grant in the booth).

But the storm that hit San Diego is due in the Phoenix area Saturday evening threatening the weekend’s Cactus League schedule.

The Padres are down to play a split-squad doubleheader Sunday with half the squad going to Tucson, the home of the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate.

Pitchers optioned

Relief pitchers Nick Vincent and Josh Spence were optioned to Triple-A Tucson on Friday, reducing to 46 the number of players still in the major league camp.

A Ramona High grad, Vincent, 25, allowed no hits in three scoreless innings this spring. But his longshot chances of making Opening Day roster suffered a huge setback Wednesday when he suffered a sprained ankle by stepping on a ball while throwing in the Padres bullpen.

Spence, 24, was 0-2 with a 2.73 ERA in 40 appearances for the Padres last season. The Australian native also missed time this spring due to injuries and had worked only 1 2/3 innings over two games.

Notes

The Padres are continuing to discuss a long-term contract extension with catcher Nick Hundley and the sides are said to be close. An announcement could be made as soon as early next week. Hundley, meanwhile, was sidelined Friday with a pain in his side. “If last year’s (right) oblique strain was a 10, this is a one,” said Hundley.

• Outfielder Chris Denorfia has had nine at-bats in minor league games the past two days. He went 3-for-5 Friday with a double and triple. He has yet to test his lower back issues in the field. “I feel really good,” said Denorfia.

• The Padres scored eight runs in the bottom of the seventh Friday to defeat the Angels reserves 8-7. The Angels out-hit the Padres 19-8.

• Shortstop Jason Bartlett had the play of the game, going deep into the hole to his right to grab a grounder, then throwing sharply to second to start a double play.